Education

Assistant principal Brian Sprenger, left, and Principal John Pavlicek pose for a photo at Harrison School at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year. (Sara Knuth / Daily Record)

The assistant principal of Harrison K-8 School submitted a letter of resignation to the Cañon City School District on Wednesday, one day after Principal John Pavlicek was placed on paid administrative leave.

Assistant Principal Brian Sprenger, who has been at Harrison since August 2015, confirmed that he submitted the letter of resignation but said he could not comment further.

In the letter, which was submitted to the Daily Record by a Harrison staff member, Sprenger wrote that he was asked by Superintendent George Welsh on Tuesday to take over as Harrison's interim leader but declined the offer.

Pavlicek, who said he was pressured into submitting a letter of resignation, was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday morning, hours after the school board decided not to renew his contract.

Sprenger also wrote that he plans to stay in his current role as the assistant principal until the end of the school year.

"I'm not willing, however, to commit to the work George charged me with that describes the work of the building principal," Sprenger wrote in the letter. "I'm also withdrawing my name from consideration for the principal position for the 2017-18 school year."

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In an email to Harrison's staff, Welsh wrote that he made the interim principal offer to Sprenger because several staff members have expressed support for Harrison's leadership since discussions about Pavlicek's resignation began Friday.

"I approached Mr. Sprenger to ask him to take on this leadership role because I felt he, being so much a part of work that began, could help to guide that work forward," Welsh wrote in the letter. "I also have seen in him the ability to lead a building, and was quite sincere in asking him to consider applying for the position on a permanent basis."

Welsh also said he is currently looking for someone to take over as the school's interim principal until the end of the school year.

"I understand Mr. Sprenger has decided not to accept this responsibility, and has additionally submitted his letter of resignation effective at the end of this school year," he wrote. "I understand his willingness to accept the challenge, and am truly sorry to hear he no longer wants to work at Harrison."

For Sprenger, the decision to resign was a difficult one. He wrote in the letter that he hoped to lead Harrison "for many years to come."

"I realize I have the hopes and support of this school community, and it pains my heart to know that the Harrison community will hurt over this," he wrote.

He also wrote that during the meeting with Welsh, he felt uncomfortable.

"During the course of the conversation, I was made to feel uncomfortable based off comments Mr. Welsh made about Mr. Pavlicek, Mr. (Nick) Sartori and others," Sprenger wrote. "I was also made to feel like I have somehow made a mistake by standing up for what I believe in and what I know to be true."

In his email to staff members, Welsh wrote, "I have no doubt I did. I was exhausted and emotional like all of you. My comments about Mr. Pavlicek were in relation to Mr. Sprenger's desire to know exactly why the board of education made this decision about him."

During Monday's school board meeting, Sprenger was among a crowd of Harrison staff members and families who were in support of Pavlicek. Sartori, who is the school's counselor, was among eight people who spoke formally to the board in favor of a contract renewal for Pavlicek.

"A lot of people have stopped me and asked, 'Why?'" Sartori said at the meeting. "My answer is I don't know."

He also said Pavlicek allowed him to access his personnel file so that Sartori could determine for sure if he could support Pavlicek fully.

Though Board President Larry Oddo disputed whether the file was complete, "there's not even one thing in this file," Sartori said Monday.

Because Pavlicek's resignation is a personnel issue, board members said they could not legally talk about potential issues they had with Pavlicek or give an official reason for their decision.

However, Welsh wrote in the email, their decision could come to light within the next week as a result of a Colorado Open Records Act request filed by the Daily Record.

"When Mr. Sprenger told me he felt the Harrison staff needs to know why this decision was made, I told him the board can not directly come out and say such things publicly because it puts them in a position where it could look like they are trying to keep Mr. Pavlicek from furthering his career," he wrote.

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